Scan barcode
A review by heathenpenguin
Gameboard of the Gods by Richelle Mead
Did not finish book.
Look, I think I gave it a fair shot, stopping at the 50% mark. The pacing is slow and the main characters are either utterly unsympathetic (no matter how much I tried not to factor that to my over-all enjoyment of the book), stupid or boring. I found that I did not like that there is more telling than showing. How am I supposed to believe the things characters claim about others when I cannot see the proof of their claims? Another thing on the writing: I really thought this book was YA. I really did. I only realized it was Adult when I got to Justin's POV.
On the matter of world-building, I am reminded again of the quality of world-building in the past Dystopian fiction I've read. They were unsatisfactory, to be honest. They put things like factions and oppressive governments and Bronze Age-era like female subjugation because shock factor/for the Evulz. In this book, it's all about racism. Like, I really, really wanted to throw my Kindle hard against the wall while I read the Panama scenes. I know it's in the future and there was the plague and half the world died and everything, but really? Panama regressed back to the 19th century? Because, what, they're Latinos or something? And somehow, the USA became more secular than the communists Russia and China. And Europe pretty much got wiped off existence when it's almost as multicultural as the US. How did that happen? And why pattern the new state from the Ancient Romans? Why? There were other, bigger empires that have lasted longer than theirs, honestly. Racism will bite you in the ass in the end. But what bugged me big time about the race issue is that somehow being mixed-race made you more resistant to the killer virus. How? Which "race" in particular is more resistant to it? I just...ugh. I don't want to say this, but I think the race thing is just a device to create racism in the book. I dunno.
So, anyway, because this is sci fi, I cannot suspend my disbelief very much. I really do want my whys or hows answered because the world, to some extent, should still be...plausible using our current knowledge of the world. I am not as strict when it comes to fantasy, but I also expect it to be grounded in realism. Just like when I tried Divergent, the implausibility of their world put me off and I didn't enjoy it that much. Unlike this book, though, I might finish Divergent in the future.
On the matter of world-building, I am reminded again of the quality of world-building in the past Dystopian fiction I've read. They were unsatisfactory, to be honest. They put things like factions and oppressive governments and Bronze Age-era like female subjugation because shock factor/for the Evulz. In this book, it's all about racism. Like, I really, really wanted to throw my Kindle hard against the wall while I read the Panama scenes. I know it's in the future and there was the plague and half the world died and everything, but really? Panama regressed back to the 19th century? Because, what, they're Latinos or something? And somehow, the USA became more secular than the communists Russia and China. And Europe pretty much got wiped off existence when it's almost as multicultural as the US. How did that happen? And why pattern the new state from the Ancient Romans? Why? There were other, bigger empires that have lasted longer than theirs, honestly. Racism will bite you in the ass in the end. But what bugged me big time about the race issue is that somehow being mixed-race made you more resistant to the killer virus. How? Which "race" in particular is more resistant to it? I just...ugh. I don't want to say this, but I think the race thing is just a device to create racism in the book. I dunno.
So, anyway, because this is sci fi, I cannot suspend my disbelief very much. I really do want my whys or hows answered because the world, to some extent, should still be...plausible using our current knowledge of the world. I am not as strict when it comes to fantasy, but I also expect it to be grounded in realism. Just like when I tried Divergent, the implausibility of their world put me off and I didn't enjoy it that much. Unlike this book, though, I might finish Divergent in the future.